Browns: Holmgren weighs in on coaches, quarterbacks and play-calling

Every time Mike Holmgren meets with the media, which is rare, he gives off a vibe he would love to be on the sideline again.

Tuesday afternoon in Berea was one of those times. The Browns president met with reporters for 40 minutes. The main topics, as one would suspect, were Colt McCoy and Eric Mangini.

Some critics were surprised Holmgren retained Mangini after last year, but the Browns won four straight to finish the season, and Holmgren was reluctant to fire a coach after one year.

This season, the Browns are 2-5. Unlike last season, when they were blown out on a weekly basis, the Browns led in the fourth quarter in three of their five losses. They have scored 46 more points (118) and allowed 37 fewer (142) than at the same point last year.

Advertisement

But 2-5 is 2-5. Holmgren said he won't make any decisions on the coaching staff until after the season.

"I think it's important that you take some of the emotion out of it if you can," Holmgren said. "At the end of the year, everyone catch their breath a little bit, think about it, and then hopefully make an intelligent decision.

"Wins and losses, that's not the only criteria. The crummy part of our business is that most of the time it is the main one. I thought my last year in Seattle (2008), 4-12 on the surface they should have fired me based on record. Four-and-12 is my worst record of all time. It may have been my best coaching job because we were playing with young people who gave me everything they had, but they just weren't good enough.

"If that taught me anything, it taught me in my position there's more to look at. Hopefully I'll do that properly."

Holmgren, in an indirect way, was most critical of the offensive play-calling without directly criticizing offensive coordinator Brian Daboll. Holmgren, sounding like a frustrated coach -- he coached the Packers and Seahawks a total of 17 years and was in three Super Bowls -- said he would like to see more passes thrown to the wide receivers. He said the bulk of the game plans call for passes in the middle of the field to tight ends and running backs.

"We don't throw as many balls here as I have thrown over the years, so the numbers aren't going to be as great," said Holmgren, who broke into the NFL as an assistant under Bill Walsh with the 49ers. "You have to ask yourself about the receivers. But they do not get as many touches as I'm used to.

"Whoever is calling the game, and in this case it's Brian, has a belief and a system in how he moves the football, how he is going to do it. If anyone were to interfere with that too much it would really throw a monkey wrench in most things. So, we're going to play it out and see what happens."

The Browns did nothing to improve the receiving corps from last year other than to use a sixth-round draft pick on Carlton Mitchell, who has not caught a pass.

"Let's not jump on the receivers too much here," Holmgren said. "I think they're OK. I think they're better than OK. I think they're pretty good. But their numbers haven't been very good, Last year for obvious reasons, I think (bad quarterbacks in Derek Anderson and Brady Quinn). This year, for the reasons I stated.

"I would like to see our wide receivers catch more passes. To be, I think, the most effective most offensive team you can be, I think it's important that they catch passes. I think as we mature as an offensive football team, I would like to see that."

Holmgren talked about how difficult it is on Sundays to sit in a stadium suite and watch games like a fan. He has a hotline directly to the Browns' bench, but he used it only once to check on an injury. He does not call plays into Mangini.

Holmgren, 62, also said he is committed to finishing out the five-year contract he signed with Browns owner Randy Lerner in January, but then he added:

"I made a promise, and I'm going stick with that. Now if I keep wearing a suit or not, we'll see."

That certainly sounds like he is itching to coach, but when asked to clarify he backed off.

"I love coaching," he said." I'm doing what I'm doing now. My commitment is to get the Browns going in the right direction and having people feel good about their team in my role as the president. When I talk to Randy honestly about those things, I am being honest. Right now, that's what I'm going to do."

As for McCoy, Holmgren praised the rookie for playing well against the Steelers and Saints, but as for the big question, who will start at quarterback when Seneca Wallace and/or Jake Delhomme are healthy, Holmgren is leaving that up to Mangini. Wallace hopes to practice today for the first time since being injured in the Atlanta game on Oct. 10.

The bigger question, one Holmgren did not answer, is do the Browns play McCoy looking to the 2011 draft and 2011 season.

"That's the discussion that's going to take place," Holmgren said. "It's important, I think. When that discussion takes place, I'll let everybody know. I'll probably ask (Mangini), 'As head coach, what do you want to do?'

"There's a lot that goes into that. Until it's clear that either one of those veteran quarterbacks can play physically, Colt is going to play. He has to. As soon as there's a choice to make, you have to sit down and have that conversation and make a choice.

"The obvious choice is do you play the young quarterback because he gives you the best chance to win or are you doing it just for the future? That's kind of crumby if you're doing it just for the future. You want to win every game."